Mountain Biking - Fork leaking down.

I have a Gary Fisher Cake 3 that I've been riding for about 3 months now. I've noticed that the fork leaks down over about 2 weeks. I pump it up and it's fine for awhile then starts getting spongy again. Is this normal for air shocks? I mean tires will leak down over time as well, but I didn't really think about the fork doing it.

my air fork holds pretty dang good. but it is still pretty new. pretty much just o-rings hold that pressure. you probably have a worn one. if you are feeling ambitious, you can take some of it apart and look for flattened/ worn o-rings and probably replace them with some from a hardware store.

i wouldn't worry too much if you don't mind pumping it up. yo, pump up the jam...sorry.

also check to make sure the schrader valve is not loose or damaged or something silly like that.

It holds for several rides, so it's not a huge issue. I can tell when it starts going down though.

You could get the fork serviced if you don't want to pull it apart yourself and that should take care of it. Does cost money of course

What fork do you have? I mean if they are like $500 fox forx then you should probably spend a little and get some service, but if they are like 5years old off ebay, then just suck it up and pump it.

My fork is a few years old and holds perfectly fine. Loses only a fraction of a lb every few months.

It's a Rockshox Duke. I got a leftover '04 Cake (new) about 3-4 months ago and just noticed it recently. I realized it was low the first time when I took the bike in for it's 15 hour service ( a freebie when you buy a bike here!) At that time I just figured I'd screwed up putting air in as I was warned it was easy to let it all escape. Since then It's gone down again, and is starting to get soft a third time. I'll talk to the guy at the LBS and see what they think. I suppose it copuld be a break-in thing.

BTW, fork issue aside, I LOVE the bike!!

Nice, I have a Dukie too.

Did you use an air compressor to pump it? Shocks take a very small quantity of air, if you suddenly introduce 120psi from an air compressor, it can blow the seals. Thats one reason they sell the little shock pumps.